Gandhi Agrees To Most Of Sikhs' Demands

July 25, 1985|By United Press International

NEW DELHI, INDIA — Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Sikh political leaders agreed on an accord Wednesday aimed at ending four years of bitter strife that led to an army attack on the Sikh's holiest shrine and the assassination of Gandhi's mother, Indira.

Gandhi told Parliament that an 11-point agreement with the Sikh political party, the Akali Dali, was a ''very concrete step forward'' that ''will bring to an end a very difficult period through which the country has passed.''

After two days of talks between the government and Sikh political leaders, the government granted the major demands of the party, which claims to represent most of India's 15 million Sikhs -- 2 percent of the population.

Akali Dali was seeking more political and economic autonomy in northern Punjab state, the most prosperous of India's 22 states and home to 52 percent of India's Sikhs.

There was no immediate reaction from Sikh extremists, whose demands have included a separate state or nation. A separatist campaign of terror against moderate Sikhs and Hindus has resulted in hundreds of killings since 1981.

Under the pact, the government agreed to designate Chandigarh, a city of about 500,000 people, as the capital of Punjab. Chandigarh is now the shared capital of Punjab and Haryana state, which is mostly Hindu.

The government also agreed to promote the Punjabi language spoken by Sikhs and to encourage state governments to protect minorities, and said it would move to resolve Hindu-Sikh disputes in the state.

The agreement will mean a broadening to northern India of a federal inquiry into anti-Sikh riots in New Delhi that erupted when Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two Sikh bodyguards Oct. 31. Special courts set up to try Sikh terrorists now will hear only cases involving terrorist crimes.

The government pledged not to discriminate against Sikhs in the army and agreed to pay compensation to families of Sikhs killed in ''agitation or any other action.'' Compensation for property damage will also be paid.

Gandhi, however, refused to grant a Sikh demand for withdrawal of the army from Punjab and did not say whether federal rule in Punjab will be rescinded. Political analysts said Gandhi wants to see how Sikhs react to the agreement and whether terrorist acts continue before allowing popular rule in Punjab.